Cor. 11:4, 7; Gal. 1:11, 16; Col. 1:23, 28). At the same time, by the time Paul writes Philippians the gospel of Christ has become such a fundamentally shared assumption in his friendship with the Philippians that he can use the term freely and frequently, without further modification (‘the gospel’: 1:5, 7, 12, 16, 27; 2:22; 4:3, 15). To live as Christians at Philippi means to share both in its message and in the ministry of its proclamation—and by extension, presumably, in its ‘advance’ (v. 12)
Page 61